Let bandy strengthen the Games! It will lower cost using existing ball-sport venue. Bandy aligns perfectly with the IOC reforms and Olympic Principles.
Bandy is the 2nd largest winter sport. It will instantly expand real ongoing activity. Its youth appeal and popularity will add spectators and audience. Bandy opens the huge ball-sport window. Bandy is the ancient hockey sport of North Asia, Europe and the national sport of Russia. Let bandy strengthen the Games!
- 2nd largest winter sport
- 2nd in tickets sales per day
- 3rd in universality
- 6th in women participation
- Uses existing venues
- Low-cost sport
- Socially includes and empowers
- Heritage of Europe & Eurasia
Bandy Will Strengthen The Olympic Winter Games
To Thomas Bach:
The IOC Should Welcome Bandy.
Bandy will strengthen the Olympic Winter Games. Include Bandy from the 2026 Games and beyond.
Dignitaries Who Support The Petition
Support and lend your signature too!
Lennart Johansson
(1926-2019)
UEFA Honorary President and UEFA President 1990-2007. Masterminded the massive
success: The Champions League. Started his sports career in AIK bandy.
Per Ravn Omdal
UEFA Vice President 1996-2008 and Honorary President of the Norwegian Football
Federation (NFF). Served as NFF President 1988-1992 and 1996-2004.
Victoria Silvstedt
Top model, actress, and singer. An injury ended her skiing career. TV
personality and TV anchor in "Sport by Victoria", for Eurosport in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Thorbjørn Harr
Trained in classical theatre. Acting in theatre, movies, and series including Hollywood
productions e.g. the recent Vikings, Bel Canto, 22 July and Stockholm.
Learn More About Bandy
What kind of sport is bandy?
Bandy belong to the vast ball-sport family, the World’s most popular sports category. Bandy is the ancient hockey on ice.
Bandy is often called football on ice (Rules, 11 players, 2 x 45 minutes halves and pitch-size). Crossing over with hockey (stick and ball), and ice hockey (skates, equipment).
The Bandy surface is 3,5 times larger than the NHL standard. The large ice sheet facilitates high speed and agile artistry. Skaters can reach a top speed of close to 50 km/hour and hit the ball over 220km/hour. Bandy is a fast version of football. The speed will fascinate ball-sport lovers.
Ball-sport connoisseurs recognize bandy as the agile players’ sport.
New spectators and TV audience easily familiarize with Bandy. Rules are close to football. Two 11-a-side teams play 2 times 45 minutes halves on a 100 by 60-meter iced pitch. There are no reserves, but 5 substitutes that seamlessly swap without interrupting the match.
Football has in-throw from sidelines, Bandy has in-stroke. Similarly, there are free-stroke inside the playing-field and penalty inside the penalty area. Corners are reminiscent of the hockey (FIH) short corner.
Rules require essential protection: Helmet, teeth protection and neck-strap. The goaltender has no stick and the skaters have lighter padding than in ice hockey. The skate gliding surface is longer. The bandy stick is about 125 cm (4 feet) and with a curved angle. The ball diameter is 63 mm with a weight of 60 g. (Read More: Bandy Explained Illustration)
The oldest branch of ball-sports is the hockey sports recognized by ball and stick. Curved shaped crooks (the shepherds crook) were used as a stick. In summer time it was played on plains, and winter time on frozen ponds.
Mural illustration of ball hockey is found in excavations in Egypt originating 2600 BC. Bandy’s twin summer sports hockey (FIH), Ireland’s Hurley, Scotland’s Shinty/Shinney and Wales’ Bando can, therefore in a way claim to be the oldest team sports.
The same way bandy can claim to be the oldest hockey sport on ice. Skates made of animal shack bones 2000 BC and irrigated ponds are found in Hungary. Evidence of ball hockey on skates appears 1000 AD. Regular bandy competitions have taken place at least since 18c.
Federation of International Bandy (FIB) is IOC Recognized. Bandy is eligible as a sport for the Winter Games, Olympic Charter Rule 27.
Bandy took part in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) at Lillehammer 2016, and will likely participate in the YOG Lausanne 2020. Bandy is part of the Winter Universiade 2019, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Bandy was part of all 7 editions of the Nordic Games 1901-1926, the predecessor to the Olympic Winter Games (OWG). The journal “Revue Olympic” described the Nordic Games as the “Scandinavian Olympiads”.
Bandy was excluded in Chamonix 1924 due to a rivalry between Sweden and the IOC over the Nordic Games early 20c. The sports programme of 1924 provides unusually strong antecedents for the contemporary sports programme.
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Bandy belong to the vast ball-sport family, the World’s most popular sports category. Bandy is the ancient hockey on ice.
Bandy is often called football on ice (Rules, 11 players, 2 x 45 minutes halves and pitch-size). Crossing over with hockey (stick and ball), and ice hockey (skates, equipment).
The Bandy surface is 3,5 times larger than the NHL standard. The large ice sheet facilitates high speed and agile artistry. Skaters can reach a top speed of close to 50 km/hour and hit the ball over 220km/hour. Bandy is a fast version of football. The speed will fascinate ball-sport lovers.
Ball-sport connoisseurs recognize bandy as the agile players’ sport.
New spectators and TV audience easily familiarize with Bandy. Rules are close to football. Two 11-a-side teams play 2 times 45 minutes halves on a 100 by 60-meter iced pitch. There are no reserves, but 5 substitutes that seamlessly swap without interrupting the match.
Football has in-throw from sidelines, Bandy has in-stroke. Similarly, there are free-stroke inside the playing-field and penalty inside the penalty area. Corners are reminiscent of the hockey (FIH) short corner.
Rules require essential protection: Helmet, teeth protection and neck-strap. The goaltender has no stick and the skaters have lighter padding than in ice hockey. The skate gliding surface is longer. The bandy stick is about 125 cm (4 feet) and with a curved angle. The ball diameter is 63 mm with a weight of 60 g. (Read More: Bandy Explained Illustration)
The oldest branch of ball-sports is the hockey sports recognized by ball and stick. Curved shaped crooks (the shepherds crook) were used as a stick. In summer time it was played on plains, and winter time on frozen ponds.
Mural illustration of ball hockey is found in excavations in Egypt originating 2600 BC. Bandy’s twin summer sports hockey (FIH), Ireland’s Hurley, Scotland’s Shinty/Shinney and Wales’ Bando can, therefore in a way claim to be the oldest team sports.
The same way bandy can claim to be the oldest hockey sport on ice. Skates made of animal shack bones 2000 BC and irrigated ponds are found in Hungary. Evidence of ball hockey on skates appears 1000 AD. Regular bandy competitions have taken place at least since 18c.
Federation of International Bandy (FIB) is IOC Recognized. Bandy is eligible as a sport for the Winter Games, Olympic Charter Rule 27.
Bandy took part in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) at Lillehammer 2016, and will likely participate in the YOG Lausanne 2020. Bandy is part of the Winter Universiade 2019, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Bandy was part of all 7 editions of the Nordic Games 1901-1926, the predecessor to the Olympic Winter Games (OWG). The journal “Revue Olympic” described the Nordic Games as the “Scandinavian Olympiads”.
Bandy was excluded in Chamonix 1924 due to a rivalry between Sweden and the IOC over the Nordic Games early 20c. The sports programme of 1924 provides unusually strong antecedents for the contemporary sports programme.